Showing posts with label happy new year 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happy new year 2010. Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Ben did great with his grammy & poptop (my parents) during our vacation. We were naturally a bit nervous to leave him for a week, but once my parents started sending us pictures and my mom telling us that "by day 3 he wasn't even asking for you anymore", we were rest assured that all was well. Here's some fun that Ben had while we were on vacation... Thanks so much mom & dad for all you do for us and Ben... we love you!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Happy New Year! (long post)
We started our New Year off with a very early morning flight to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for an 8 day (kid-free) vacation. Awesome time away, but happy to get home to our little Bebo.... (more on this in another post)
Some details & thoughts about this trip:
1. New family member... Lots of important events happened during this vacation... my brother got married to Lana (welcome to the family sis!) who he's been dating for a few years at Cinnamon Bay on the island of St. John and my brother also turned the big 40! The wedding was stunning and we were so honored to be their only guests and their official witnesses. Aside from that, we did the usual island vacation stuff... hiked, swam, snorkeled, slept in, ate a ton of great food, got bit up by mosquitoes and met tons of amazing and crazy island folks.
2. Island Life... The Caribbean reminded me SOOOO much of when I lived in South Carolina, mainly because of the pace. These people move sloooooow down south and on the island, there is really no time to keep... we quickly had to slow our brains and bodies down to conform to the mantra that island folks live by... "It's Island time Mon!" (our first night there, we went to sushi and got 2 beers and 3 rolls in 2.5 hours) Also in remembrance of the south, people just sit a lot. Seriously like sitting by the road. Doing what I'm not sure, but I would point out the sitters at every chance I got. Steve was about done with me by day #2 of that. They are EXTREMELY religious.... just like in the south, and I'm not talking about anything subtle here. Signs on the side of the road stating (in big red letters) "LOVE JESUS OR BURN IN HELL". Lovely and comforting to all I'm sure. Lastly, the heat and incredible humidity. OY. Seriously, there is zero point in doing your hair in the Caribbean b/c in a few minutes it's either frizzy or flat again.
3. Our Digs... We stayed in a vacation rental... we are not huge fans of hotels for extended periods of time and love to integrate with the local culture so when we travel for more than 2-3 days, we go onto www.vrbo.com and find a cool and local place to stay. It's always cheaper and much more interesting. We stayed at a couples property in St. Thomas that was just gorgeous. Full ocean views and tons of amenities (including jacuzzi on the deck under the stars). The owners, Billye & Joe were the hippest 60+ year olds ever... Joe is 73, has a braided beard, used to own a leather shop in Greenwich Village in NYC & plays drums in a jazz band. All seemed par for the course in the islands... Thanks Joe & Billye!
4. Driving... we didn't think we needed a car (as my brother and Lana were arriving 3 days after us and they were renting a jeep) but quickly realized that there is NO way around without a car. The infrastructure is horrible and we felt it was a mixture at times between Vietnam & Costa Rica. No sidewalks, no places to bike, no places to walk unless you're in a city (and on an island that is 12 miles long, there really are no "cities".) First order of business when we woke up the first morning was to rent a car. That was interesting. Basically every place was out of cars (go figure) so we ended up renting from some dude in his living room pointing outside saying ... "ya mon, take yer pick" to which we chose one of 3 sporty Ford Focuses from his front yard. We rocked that little car. Driving itself was all up to Steve as they drive on the "wrong" side of the road (think back to British driving) and I had very intense feelings that I might freak out and get us killed if I were to drive, so he happily accepted the task and did a great job. The slogan to keep in mind down there while driving is "shoulder to shoulder". Even with that in my mind, I wasn't about to attempt it.
5. Iguana's... let's just say they are everywhere. I'm sure for Island folks, they are equivalent to our squirrels, but nonetheless, I couldn't get used to them walking across my beach towel or scurrying up and down the trees next to our bed. Yikes. Gross. Yuck. I'll take squirrels any day.
6. Recycling.... let's just say there isn't any... It felt incredibly counterintuitive to me, the girl that goes through our trash to make sure ALL recyclables are where they are supposed to be on a weekly basis, to just throw bottles and cans into the regular trash. I had a thought of shipping home the items we used so we would leave as little of footprint as possible to which Steve had a "slight" reaction to. :) We talked to many locals about this and many people from the states that live there and many agree that it's a major issue and one that is very UNsustainable for their land. Steve and I are currently scheming a business plan to start a recycling program in the Islands. :)
Enjoy the pictures (not in any particular order)!
Some details & thoughts about this trip:
1. New family member... Lots of important events happened during this vacation... my brother got married to Lana (welcome to the family sis!) who he's been dating for a few years at Cinnamon Bay on the island of St. John and my brother also turned the big 40! The wedding was stunning and we were so honored to be their only guests and their official witnesses. Aside from that, we did the usual island vacation stuff... hiked, swam, snorkeled, slept in, ate a ton of great food, got bit up by mosquitoes and met tons of amazing and crazy island folks.
2. Island Life... The Caribbean reminded me SOOOO much of when I lived in South Carolina, mainly because of the pace. These people move sloooooow down south and on the island, there is really no time to keep... we quickly had to slow our brains and bodies down to conform to the mantra that island folks live by... "It's Island time Mon!" (our first night there, we went to sushi and got 2 beers and 3 rolls in 2.5 hours) Also in remembrance of the south, people just sit a lot. Seriously like sitting by the road. Doing what I'm not sure, but I would point out the sitters at every chance I got. Steve was about done with me by day #2 of that. They are EXTREMELY religious.... just like in the south, and I'm not talking about anything subtle here. Signs on the side of the road stating (in big red letters) "LOVE JESUS OR BURN IN HELL". Lovely and comforting to all I'm sure. Lastly, the heat and incredible humidity. OY. Seriously, there is zero point in doing your hair in the Caribbean b/c in a few minutes it's either frizzy or flat again.
3. Our Digs... We stayed in a vacation rental... we are not huge fans of hotels for extended periods of time and love to integrate with the local culture so when we travel for more than 2-3 days, we go onto www.vrbo.com and find a cool and local place to stay. It's always cheaper and much more interesting. We stayed at a couples property in St. Thomas that was just gorgeous. Full ocean views and tons of amenities (including jacuzzi on the deck under the stars). The owners, Billye & Joe were the hippest 60+ year olds ever... Joe is 73, has a braided beard, used to own a leather shop in Greenwich Village in NYC & plays drums in a jazz band. All seemed par for the course in the islands... Thanks Joe & Billye!
4. Driving... we didn't think we needed a car (as my brother and Lana were arriving 3 days after us and they were renting a jeep) but quickly realized that there is NO way around without a car. The infrastructure is horrible and we felt it was a mixture at times between Vietnam & Costa Rica. No sidewalks, no places to bike, no places to walk unless you're in a city (and on an island that is 12 miles long, there really are no "cities".) First order of business when we woke up the first morning was to rent a car. That was interesting. Basically every place was out of cars (go figure) so we ended up renting from some dude in his living room pointing outside saying ... "ya mon, take yer pick" to which we chose one of 3 sporty Ford Focuses from his front yard. We rocked that little car. Driving itself was all up to Steve as they drive on the "wrong" side of the road (think back to British driving) and I had very intense feelings that I might freak out and get us killed if I were to drive, so he happily accepted the task and did a great job. The slogan to keep in mind down there while driving is "shoulder to shoulder". Even with that in my mind, I wasn't about to attempt it.
5. Iguana's... let's just say they are everywhere. I'm sure for Island folks, they are equivalent to our squirrels, but nonetheless, I couldn't get used to them walking across my beach towel or scurrying up and down the trees next to our bed. Yikes. Gross. Yuck. I'll take squirrels any day.
6. Recycling.... let's just say there isn't any... It felt incredibly counterintuitive to me, the girl that goes through our trash to make sure ALL recyclables are where they are supposed to be on a weekly basis, to just throw bottles and cans into the regular trash. I had a thought of shipping home the items we used so we would leave as little of footprint as possible to which Steve had a "slight" reaction to. :) We talked to many locals about this and many people from the states that live there and many agree that it's a major issue and one that is very UNsustainable for their land. Steve and I are currently scheming a business plan to start a recycling program in the Islands. :)
Enjoy the pictures (not in any particular order)!
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